Cord bracket for hospital beds



Nov. 294, 1959 c. D. ELDRIDGE CORD BRACKET FOR HOSPITAL BEDS Filed March ll. 1957 IN VEN TOR. Wr/e5 0. E/or/'o/ye AHORA/Ey mi Z4 2.@

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United States Patent O 2,913,740 CORD BRACKET Fon HosPrrAL BEDS clmnes D. Eldridge, Kansas city, Mb. Application March 11, 1,957, serial No. 645,150 1 claim. (ci. s-sm This invention relates to improvements in hospital equipment or bed attachments for general use and more particularly, to a bracket adapted for attachment to a bed in position for supporting electric cords suchas bell cords used by patients in summoning nurses and attendants.

In addition to bell cords, modern day hospitals are conventionally provided with bed-adjusting mechanism that may be controlled by the patient through the medium of a switch, and the cord therefor, as well as the bell cord, are normally attached to the mattress or bedding in any available manner such as through use of Safety pins. This practice is not only time consuming and inconvenient, but does not always meet the convenience of the patient and for the most part, results in tearing or other damage to the bedding.

It is the most important object of the instant invention, therefore, to provide a bracket that may be readily and quickly attached to the frame of the bed and having cordreceiving means thereon, the entire assembly being adjustable in all respects for positioning the patient-operated switches in a convenient location adjacent the upper surface of the mattress.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bracket as just above set forth which may be shifted horizontally along the mattress-supporting frame of the bed for proper positioning convenient to the patient as aforementioned.

A still further important object of the present invention is to provide a bracket assembly that may be adjusted or collapsed when not in use to a position out of the way and where changing of the bed linens or making the bed is not inconvenienced by virtue of the bracket on the bed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cord bracket for hospital beds made pursuant to my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof on a reduced scale.

Fig. 3 is an edge elevational view of the bracket.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the bracket; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken on line V--V of Fig. 2.

As best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing, the improvements of the present invention are particularly adapted for mounting on a vertical ange of bed rail 12 and includes, therefore, a bracket 14 provided with an U-shaped clamp 16 that normally embraces the ange 10 from beneath, a plurality of set-screws or the like 18 being provided in the bracket 14 for adjustably locking the clamp 16 in place on the flange 10.

Bracket 14 includes additionally, a bearing 20 integral therewith through web 22 for reciprocably and rotatably receiving an elongated rod or standard 24. A crosspin or the like 26 at the lowermost end of the standard 24 presents a stop to limit the extent of upward reciprocation of rotatable standard 24 and a set-screw 28 carried ICC by the bearing 20 and engaging the standard 24 holds the latter in selected positions.

The unit that is carried by the bracket 14 is T-shaped, presenting therefore, a cord-receiving element or crosshead 30 in the nature of a rectangular plate rigid to the standard 24 at its uppermost end. One means for attaching the crosshead 30 to the standard 24 includes a slot 32 formed in the standard 24 for receiving the crosshead 30 and a plurality of rivets or other fasteners 34 passing through the standard 24 and the crosshead 30.

Crosshead V30 is provided with a plurality of circular holes 36 and an L-shaped opening 38 communicating with each hole 36 respectively and radially of the latter, the mouths of the openings 38 facing upwardly. A split rubber grommet 40 or the like within each hole 36 respectively, opens in register with the corresponding opening 38 and is adapted to receive corresponding electric cords 42 and 44 as the case may be.

There is illustrated in Figure l, a conventional push button type of switch 46 that is commonly employed in hospitals for use by the patient in summoning nurses and attendants, associated with cord 42, and a switch 48 in conjunction with cord 44 for operating mechanism (not shown) to raise and lower the bed to suit the desires of the patient.

When the assembly of the instant invention is associated with the bed as shown in Figure l, it is to be preferred that the standard 24 be adjusted so that crosshead 30 is adjacent the'upper surface of mattress 50 so that the switch means 46 and 48 might lie upon the mattress 50 in a position conveniently accessible to the patient. The grommets 40 exert a frictional grip upon the cords 42 and 44 preventing the latter from slipping therethrough and, therefore, any desired length of the cords 42 and 44 may be positioned on the mattress 50 substantially as shown in Figure l.

It is seen from the foregoing that the entire assembly may be shifted longitudinally of the rail 12 to any position desired thereon simply by loosening the setscrews 18 and sliding the bracket 14 along the flange 10. By the same token the height of the crosshead 30 may be predetermined depending upon the desires of the user and upon the thickness of the mattress 50 as well as other bedding upon which the switches 46 and 48 are to lie.

The cords 42 and 44 are quickly and easily removed from the crosshead 30 by slipping the same out of the grommets 40 and thence laterally and upwardly through the L-shaped openings 38. During making of the bed, changing the linens and mattress, and during any other operation where such adjustment is desired, crosshead 30 may be lowered to a position resting upon the upper surface of bearing 20 simply by loosening setscrew 28.

It is to be noted also that the standard 24 is rotatable within the bearing 20 and, therefore, the angularity of the crosshead 30 may be varied to a position diiering from that shown in Figure l wherein crosshead 30 lies atly along the longitudinal edge of the mattress 50 or in parallelism therewith above or below the upper surface of mattress 50.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

For use with a hospital bed having a rail provided with a vertical flange, and a mattress above the rail, an electric cord support comprising a bracket adapted to bear against the ange, said bracket having an integral, U- shaped clamp for embracing the flange in looped relationship to the latter therebeneath, and setscrew means releasably engageable with the ilange, whereby the bracket may be shifted along the flange; a vertical bearing having a web integrally joining the same with the bracket; and

Patented Nov. 24, 1959 vertically and rotatable in the bearing and a crosshead at the upper end of the rod, said crosshead comprising a rectangular plate having a longitudinal, uppermost edge disposed horizontally, -Vandcord-receiving means on each side respectively of the rod, eachi'ncluding a hole and an L-shaped opening in AtheY plate, the opening extending downwardly from saidedgefand thencelaterally, registerf ing with the hole, and a split `grommet in the hole communicating with., the opening, said rod having a `slot receiving theplate, and cross fasteners attaching the plate thereto, said bearing having setscrew means engageable with the rod for holding theplate atpreselected heights and at preselected rotative positionsrelative to the mattress, said grommets being Yof frictionablematerialv for holding the vcords therein at predetermined positions extended .across the mattress.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 390,387 Merrel Oct. 2, 1888 1,335,308 Wilson ,V l Mar. 30, 1920 1,790,610 Vindal Jan. 27, 1931 2,142,019: Warner Dec. 27, 1938 2,322,753 Thomas: Jun. 29, 1943 2,542,442 Weber Feb. 20, 1951 FOREIGN 'PATENTS 76,017 Norway Dec. 12, 1949 

